Lt. Wong Won retires from NPD, joins Westport PD

Published 3:45 am, Saturday, September 28, 2013

Norwalk Police officer Shawn Wong Won, center, and fellow officers Max Sixto and Dave Geismar at the retirement party for Won Wong at the station Friday.

Hour photo / Erik Trautmann

Norwalk Police officer Shawn Wong Won, center, and fellow officers Max Sixto and Dave Geismar at the retirement party for Won Wong at the station Friday.

Photo: (C)2013, The Hour Newspapers, all rights reserved

Lt. Wong Won retires from NPD, joins Westport PD

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NORWALK -- After 25 years of service, a popular, community-oriented lieutenant retired from the Norwalk Police Department on Friday, but he will continue to serve in a neighboring municipality.

Lt. Shawn Wong Won will be sworn in as a Westport Police officer on Tuesday. He was hired by Westport and abruptly announced his retirement earlier this week.

"Everybody loves Shawn," said Officer Hector Delgado, who was supervised by Wong Won as a member of the Community Policing Unit. "Westport's very lucky. They're getting a good officer. If they don't want him, we'll take him back."

During his two-and-a-half decades of service, Wong Won developed a reputation as a friendly, knowledgeable and approachable supervisor and a driving force in community outreach. Lt. Praveen John said on one of his first days as a Norwalk cop, Wong Won approached him and told John to approach him if he needed any help. John and Wong Won have been friends ever since, and John said Norwalk is losing a lieutenant who is a "good role model for police officers in Norwalk."

"It's Norwalk's loss and Westport's gain," John said.

Wong Won, who spent the past three years commanding the Community Policing Unit, said his decision to leave the department was due in large part to a desire to spend more time with his family. He said the pension from the Norwalk Police Department combined with the salary from the Westport Police Department will allow him to fully provide for his family without taking massive amounts of overtime work.

"That will allow me to level my time a little better," he said. "I'm looking forward to the change of scenery, change of pace and serving the public again," he said.

Wong Won was given a grand send-off by his colleagues with speeches from Mayor Richard A. Moccia and Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik.

Moccia said when Wong Won accompanied him to field questions from the public at community forums and events, he was always told "what a great representative of the police department Lt. Wong Won was."

"In my almost eight years as mayor, you're one of the guys that has made it a lot easier for me," Moccia said.

Kulhawik praised Wong Won for his work as an officer and called him "a great person."

Officers Mike Silva and Ron Palmer said Wong Won was a positive influence on the department and the community at large.

"He was a really good supervisor, very easy to work for," said Officer Mike Silva.

Officer Cesar Ramirez called Wong Won a community-minded supervisor who "has strong integrity."

"I truly believe everyone in this department is going to miss Lt. Wong Won," he said. "I am personally going to miss him. He's been a loyal co-worker and a friend."